Family Connections

by Family Connections (retail) (epub)

  ‘You’re not a fool, Peggy, and I’m so glad you came to the centre. People can become unhappy or need help at any age. Though I think you must have been unhappy for a long time. Am I right?’

  Peggy nodded. She had been, she saw that quite clearly now. It was as if she’d been hiding from the truth before.

  ‘When people retire it can be very stressful building a new life. A surprising number of marriages break up over that, people your age. So let’s talk about your worries and—’

  ‘But talking to you won’t change a thing, will it?’ Peggy blew her nose again. Her eyes felt swollen and tender. She jerked to her feet and went to stare at her face in a small mirror near the door. ‘Just look at me! What am I going to do? If I go home looking like this Hartley will know something’s wrong and he’ll—’

  ‘He’ll what?’

  ‘Probe. Force me to tell him why I was crying. Mock me. Forbid me to come here again.’

  ‘Is there anywhere else you could go tonight? A family member, perhaps?’

  ‘I’ve never gone away overnight before. Never. Hartley might – come after me, make a scene.’

  ‘If you’re that afraid of him, we could find you a temporary place in a women’s refuge.’

  Peggy stared at her in horror.

  ‘Why don’t you take some time to think about this? I don’t want to influence you because you need to make your own decisions.’ Gillah looked at her watch. ‘I have another client to see in a couple of minutes, but we’ve got a room here where you can sit in peace and privacy. No one will disturb you in there if you close the door. And then in an hour’s time, I’ll come and see you so that we can discuss some practical options.’

  ‘I’d like that.’ The thought of an hour’s peace and silence was blissful.

  Peggy let Gillah show her to the room in question, which had some comfortable chairs, a hand basin with a little mirror over it and a box of tissues nearby. There was a low table full of magazines and a small circular table in one corner with a Buddha figure about two hand spans high. He looked so serene. Beside him was a shallow, oval bowl of water with petals floating on it. Frondy green plants around it cradled him in greenery. The whole effect was both pretty and calming.

  When the door had closed behind Gillah, Peggy didn’t move for a moment or two, letting the peace of this small room wash over her. She heard herself sigh aloud, but no one else could hear her so she sighed again, because that seemed to lighten the pressure on her chest.

  Gillah had pointed out the tea and coffee machine in the corridor just outside and suggested she help herself, so before she sat down Peggy peered outside to check that no one was around to see her swollen face and got herself a cup of tea. It tasted stale, as machine-made tea always did, but it was warm and she felt as if she needed the comfort of that warmth.

  After she’d drunk it, she sat staring at the Buddha figure while her thoughts went around her head in tight circles.

  It was a while before she looked at her watch. If she was going home, she really ought to be making a move now or she’d never get tea cooked on time. Only she couldn’t bear the thought of going back there. And when she looked in the small mirror over the washbasin, her face looked so bad she knew she couldn’t face Hartley.

  A few things crystallized suddenly. She didn’t want to go home at all. She dipped a fingertip in the little pool, making gentle ripples, watching the patterns as the petals bobbed about. When the water had grown still again, she went to stare out of the window at a small garden full of bright flowers.

  As she moved back to her seat she caught sight of herself in the mirror: puffy eyes, wrinkles, glasses slipping down her nose and grey hair in a tangle. She looked every day of her age – and more.

  Her main feeling now was of shame. At her age, to come to this! Oh, the humiliation of it!

  Only – she couldn’t take any more of Hartley’s sneering, she just couldn’t.

  She didn’t want to go to a women’s refuge, though. The mere thought of that made her cringe.

  But where else was there?

  * * *

  When the phone rang, Jake had just come in from the garden and was feeling ravenous. He nearly didn’t answer it, then picked it up and barked, ‘Yes?’ impatiently. If it was telemarketers, he’d give them an earful. He hated them with a passion. In fact, he made a note of any company they were representing and went elsewhere for his supplies.

  ‘Mr Everett?’

  ‘I don’t want to buy anything, thank you.’

  ‘It’s about your sister. Peggy’s here with me and she’s very upset. Could you come and see her, do you think?’

  ‘Where’s that husband of hers?’

  ‘He’s the reason she’s upset.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘Will you come?’

  ‘Yes, of course. Tell me where…’

  He broke the speed limit driving to the Women’s Wellness Centre, wondering what on earth had happened to his sister.

  When he went inside, a group of women had just arrived for a meditation class and he hovered uncomfortably near the door till the chattering group had filtered off towards the left. Then he moved forward. ‘I had a phone call from someone called Gillah. My sister’s here, apparently. My name’s Everett.’

  ‘Just a minute.’ She picked up the phone. ‘Gillah, I have a Mr Everett here.’ She smiled at Jake. ‘Please take a seat. Gillah won’t be a minute. She’s one of our counsellors.’

  He nodded and waited till a woman came out of a side corridor and moved towards him. She walked with an easy flowing movement and her gentle smile made him think of a group of narcissi at the back of his garden that nodded to him every spring in just that way. He’d always preferred them to the showier daffodils nearer the house.

  ‘I’m Gillah. I’m so glad you were willing to help. Would you mind coming into my room for a minute and I’ll explain the problem before we go to see Peggy?’

  Her voice was low and calm, the soft sounds slipping easily into the ears. Baffled by all this but instinctively feeling that this woman wasn’t a fool, he followed her. He listened incredulously as she explained what had happened.

  ‘Our Peggy?’

  ‘Yes. She was distraught when she came here. We’ve managed to calm her down a little, but she bursts into tears at the mere thought of going home. Could your sister possibly stay with you tonight, Mr Everett?’

  ‘Of course she can.’

  ‘You won’t – call in the husband?’

  ‘Of course not! I can’t stand the fellow.’

  ‘Oh, good. Come this way.’

  When he saw Peggy, Jake bit back an exclamation of shock. Her face was so swollen with crying he hardly recognized her. He didn’t try to talk to her, simply folded her close, making soothing noises and rocking her slightly, as he had done to his granddaughter Lou when she was little.

  It was a while before Peggy was ready to leave but as they walked out, he kept his arm round her shoulders and she put her arm round his waist.

  ‘Sorry for being such a nuisance,’ she kept saying, ‘but I’ve nowhere else to go.’

  ‘You’re family. Of course you can come to me.’ But he had to keep reassuring her of that because she didn’t seem able to take it in.

  When they were seated in the car, he frowned in thought. ‘Do you want to stop on the way home and buy a nightdress or something?’

  She looked at him blankly for a minute then shook her head. ‘I can’t afford it. Hartley hasn’t given me the housekeeping money yet this week.’

  ‘Don’t you have a credit card?’

  ‘He doesn’t believe in them, except the one for grocery shopping.’

  ‘Does he have a credit card?’

  ‘Yes. But he says he knows how to use it wisely.’

  Jake knew what he thought of men who treated their wives like that. ‘Well, we’ll go into the supermarket and I’ll buy you a few things.’

  She shrank down into her seat. ‘I’m not fit
to be seen in public.’

  ‘Then we’ll go straight home. I can always nip out later. That superstore stays open twenty-four hours a day. I never thought I’d be glad of that.’

  At the house he fussed over her, got her a cup of tea and set about preparing some food.

  ‘Not for me, thanks. I’m not hungry,’ she said.

  ‘You have to eat something and I don’t like eating alone. Just a small helping, eh?’

  He watched her force down a few mouthfuls then put the knife and fork down.

  ‘Don’t be angry, Jake. I just can’t eat any more.’

  ‘Now why would that make me angry? I’m worried about you, not angry, love.’

  She studied his face and seemed to relax a little at what she saw.

  As he was clearing the table, he asked, ‘Do you want me to ring Hartley up and let him know you’re safe.’

  She looked at him in horror. ‘I don’t want him to find out where I am. Gillah said you wouldn’t contact him.’

  ‘But he might go to the police and report you missing.’

  ‘Gillah said she’d ring him for me.’

  ‘That’s all right then. Now, come and have a walk round my back garden. It’s looking a picture if I say so myself.’

  Peggy enjoyed the tour and sat with him on a bench for a while. He could see from the way she turned up her face that she was enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. She wouldn’t let him go out and buy her anything, though, and seemed utterly terrified of being left on her own, so he found an old t-shirt for her to sleep in and lent her his best dressing gown. But he heard her moving around for a long time after they went to bed.

  And he had difficulty getting to sleep himself.

  What on earth had that bugger been doing to his sister? Peggy had always been timid, even as a child, but now she seemed afraid of her own shadow and was downright terrified of encountering her husband. And yet, what would she do if she left Hartley? She wasn’t suited for building a life of her own.

  Well, if necessary, she’d have to stay here. At least for the time being.

  The trouble was, Jake enjoyed his quiet life. He had friends when he wanted them and solitude when he preferred it.

  He was very disappointed in Cheryl. She ought to have seen that her mother was upset. He hadn’t had a lot to do with his niece, but it was obvious that she always sided with her father against her mother. Hartley had idolized her as a child in a way that was sickening to see. He supposed that was because it had taken Peggy a long time to fall pregnant. Cheryl was in between Jake’s daughter and granddaughter in age but no one had treated Lou like a little princess and she’d grown up into a sensible, practical young woman.

  He’d been wrong to get so angry with her about going to find their relatives.

  But he still hoped she hadn’t found any.

  He had enough complications in his life just now.

  * * *

  Casey found Mandy waiting for him after school. His friends sniggered and made remarks about older women, so he gave them the finger and turned his back on them.

  ‘Will you give Rosie a message from me?’ Mandy asked as soon as she had his full attention.

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You won’t let your mother find out?’

  ‘Nah.’

  ‘She – your mother – rang up my parents and told them about the letters. They’ve taken away my key to the post office box and they’re going to give your mother any letters that come for Rosie. Tell her I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do.’

  He looked at her in dismay.

  His bus came then and he had to run to catch it.

  ‘You won’t forget?’ she called.

  ‘Course not.’

  When he got off the bus, he walked slowly home, kicking at pieces of waste paper, trying to work out what to do. He’d heard Rosie and Mum arguing last night, but Dad had just sat in the kitchen and stared into space as if he’d gone suddenly deaf.

  When he got in, he took the milk out of the fridge and poured it carefully into a glass instead of chugging some straight down out of the carton, which always sent his mother mad. Best not to upset her at the moment.

  She came into the kitchen. ‘Did you have a good day at school?’

  ‘Mmm.’

  ‘You’re not to go and see Rosie. In fact, you can do your homework down here tonight and sit with us.’

  ‘But I need my computer.’

  ‘I’ll come up and sit with you while you use it.’ She gave him one of her Ice Queen looks as she added, ‘I don’t trust you after you broke your promise to me to say nothing to Rosie.’

  ‘I only promised not to say a word, and I didn’t say it.’

  The look she gave him would have withered a whole rosebush. ‘Go up and change quickly.’ She followed him up and stood on the landing, arms folded. ‘I’m not going down until you do.’

  He muttered under his breath as he changed out of his school uniform and sorted out his homework. It was going to be a very long evening.

  It was even worse than he’d expected because around seven Mandy’s mother popped round with a letter. He pretended not to be watching, but he could tell it was from Rosie’s Australian father by the way his mother looked at it.

  ‘It’s not fair,’ he said loudly when the visitor had left. His mother ignored him and went into the kitchen.

  ‘What’s not fair?’ his father asked.

  ‘Mum opening Rosie’s mail like that.’

  His father stared at him. ‘Come again?’

  ‘She’s opening Rosie’s mail from her biological father. The two of them were going to meet.’

  ‘Oh, that. I’m sure your mother knows best.’

  ‘Don’t you even care?’

  ‘I have other things on my mind at the moment.’

  When Casey had finished his homework, his mother made him help clear up the kitchen and take out the rubbish. It was as he was putting the transparent plastic shopping bag of rubbish into the dustbin that he saw it: an envelope that was torn into four lying on top of the scraps from dinner. Only one letter had come into the house since tea time. With a furtive glance back at the kitchen he took the pieces of the envelope out of the bag, grimacing at a smear of gravy on one, and stuffed them into his pocket.

  When he came back inside, he heard sharp voices from upstairs. Rosie and Mum were arguing again.

  With a sigh he went and sat in the living room, forced to watch old-fashioned rubbish on the TV with his parents as if he was six years old again.

  It wasn’t fair.

  And if his mother thought she’d change Rosie’s mind with this sort of treatment, she had rocks in her head. His sister would win a gold medal in the Stubborn Olympics any day. She took after their mother in that.

  When he went up to bed, his mother followed him and fiddled around in her bedroom until he’d finished in the bathroom and gone into his room. She came to stand by the door. He scowled at her.

  ‘I know you think I’m being cruel, but I’m doing it for all of us, so that we can stay a family.’

  ‘You’re doing it for yourself. Rosie wants to meet that guy and you don’t want to see him again.’

  She flushed bright red and whisked out again, slamming the door behind her.

  Only when he’d heard her go downstairs did he take the pieces of paper from underneath his pillow and piece them together. The guy must be staying in Blackpool, because it was the address of a hotel. He wondered what his mother had done with the letter.

  He put the pieces into a side pocket of his schoolbag and tried to go to sleep.

  But he couldn’t settle because from Rosie’s room he could hear muffled sobs. He’d normally have gone in to see her, but tonight he didn’t dare.

  He couldn’t remember ever being this angry with his mother.

  Then the idea came to him, and with such force it took his breath away for a moment. He considered it for a while and the more he thought about it, the more right it seemed. S
miling broadly, he made a triumphant fist in the darkness. Mum had taken Rosie’s mobile away from her, but she hadn’t taken his. He was going to ring that hotel in the morning and tell the guy where they lived. And he didn’t care if his mother grounded him for weeks when she found out.

  It upset him to hear Rosie crying like that. She never cried.

  CHAPTER 15

  Australia

  Lou was feeling a bit down so Rick took her out for a drink, but that didn’t help, so they went back to the hostel.

  ‘I don’t want to go to bed yet,’ she said as they went inside. ‘Let’s go to that room at the back and see if there’s anyone interesting to talk to.’

  When they walked into the big room, all the talking stopped and everyone stared at them. Even the trio playing pool stopped hitting balls and turned in their direction.

  Lou exchanged puzzled glances with Rick and then turned to the nearest group. ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘You’re wanted.’ One of the guys pointed to the notice board.

  Thinking someone was playing a joke on them, she went across to see a new notice with a big red arrow pointing to it.

  URGENT!

  Lady is looking for two people (a girl and a black guy) who were trying to contact the Everett family. Please ring this number.

  Lou clutched Rick’s hand tightly, then turned to him, her eyes alight with excitement. ‘Perhaps that receptionist did ring them up, after all?’

  He smiled and took down the notice. ‘She must have. Let’s go and find out what it’s all about.’

  But when he took out his mobile phone and offered it to her, she was suddenly afraid. ‘What if they don’t want to see me? What if they tell me to mind my own business?’

  ‘Then it’s best to find out straight away.’ He dialled the number, then shoved the phone into her hand. ‘Do it!’

  * * *

  Gina was just getting ready for bed when the phone rang. Someone picked it up and she continued to brush her hair, almost absent-mindedly.